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The Quartermore estate in Bloomfield Hills has six bedrooms, 6.2 bathrooms and a four-car heated garage.
A Bloomfield Hills mansion steeped in old money Oakland County history will hit the market soon.
Dubbed “Quartermore” when it was constructed a century ago, the 2.8-acre estate sits on private Vhay Lake — one of just 24 homes on the lake — and directly across the street from the Bloomfield Open Hunt club, allowing the original owner 15 minutes extra sleep before his morning hunt.
And while the Bloomfield Hills home has no shortage of historic touches, it offers myriad amenities for modern living.
“It’s so quiet for being on the main road,” homeowner Rebecca Zacks said, referring to East Long Lake Road. “It’s very modern (for a century-old home). I didn’t feel like I was pumping water or churning butter.”
Zacks’ husband, David Zacks, died last year. He was general counsel at Pontiac-based mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage and a Crain’s Notable Corporate Counsel in 2022.
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The Quartermore estate oozes vintage elegance while being updated with modern comforts.
The Zacks bought the property in late 2020 for $1.8 million. It will carry an asking price of $2.8 million when marketing begins this week.
The couple bought the house in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. David Zacks was particularly drawn to it for working from home. An upstairs suite with doors that open to the foyer below served as an ideal home office during the period, Rebecca Zacks said.
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The Quartermore estate includes a tiered patio with waterfront views as well as a pool, hot tub and greenhouse.
Situated on the private, nonmotorized lake, the nearly 8,000-square-foot mansion with six bedrooms was designed by J. Robert F. Swanson, an architect who also designed buildings on Belle Isle and at Cranbrook. The home was built for Gordon Mendelssohn, the son of 19th-century Michigan architect Louis Mendelssohn, who worked closely with the Fisher Body Co. and had his own large estate in Grosse Pointe.
Following a fire at Quartermore in 1928, the home was split into two residences, according to historical archives at Cranbrook, to which the property is adjacent. The home is now split into two wings and residents get in plenty of steps, Rebecca Zacks said with a laugh.
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The Quartermore estate includes a gourmet kitchen with tumbled marble floor, granite countertops, premium appliances, counter-level fireplace and a light-filled breakfast area with banquette seating.
The home has gone through a handful of renovations in recent years and most infrastructure is up to date, Zacks said.
The home’s foyer features a 20-foot domed ceiling and limestone fireplace, while an adjacent great room includes another fireplace made of fieldstone and a 24-foot oak timber-trussed ceiling and windows looking out to the lake. Amenities include a theater room, sauna, greenhouse, Spanish-style patio and outdoor pool with jacuzzi plus two full guest apartments, whole-house generator and four-car heated garage.
Given the size of the property and house, and complexities associated with historic homes, Zacks said she has a complete packet of service providers and other tips for a new owner.
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The Quartermore estate is a 7,595-square-foot Tudor built in 1924 and designed by renowned local architect Robert Swanson.
“Quartermore blends timeless elegance with modern amenities,” the listing reads. “A rare opportunity to make this distinguished piece of Michigan’s architectural story your own.”
The Quartermore estate hits the market at a time of considerable uncertainty in the housing sector as well as broader financial markets. A report this week by real estate brokerage Redfin found that sales of luxury homes — defined by the brokerage as those estimated to be in the top 5% of their respective metro area based on prices of homes sold over a rolling 12-month period — were at their lowest point in nearly two years.
With market volatility in full swing, sales of luxury homes in April fell 6.5% from the same time last year nationwide, per the Redfin report. In metro Detroit, sales were off more than 25%, according to Redfin.
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The Quartermore estate’s foyer has a 20-foot domed ceiling and elegant limestone floor.
Abby Kushner, a Birmingham-based Realtor with @Properties/Christie’s International Real Estate, is the listing agent. She said she’s not overly concerned about broader macro factors, however.
“These are the types of houses that there’s a small portion of the people that can afford,” Kushner said. “Those people tend to not really be as concerned with the minutiae of the market. I think when the person that comes in that has the funds to buy this house, they’re going to fall in love with it.”
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